Ski lift ticket holder



Oct. 11, 1966 E. A. JARRETT 3,277,593

SKI LIFT TICKET HOLDER Filed Sept. 26, 1963 zL-y 2 o INVENTOR (A4 MW ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,277,593 SKI LIFT TICKET HOLDER Edwin A. Jarrett, 1209 Essex Ave., Richmond, Va. Filed Feb. 26, 1963, Ser. No. 311,786 2 Claims. (Cl. 40-10) This invention relates to a ski lift ticket holder.

It is well known that the vast majority of recreational skiers repair to commercially operated ski areas for the purpose of enjoying their sport. Such ski areas, most of which provide ski lifts, make it their practice to provide each skier entering the premises, or, in some cases, to each skier desiring to use the ski lift, an admission ticket which the skier is required to display on his person during the entire time he is on the premises or, at very least, during the periods when he is using the ski lift facilities.

At some of these establishments the custom is to provide a ticket of substantial size, say 2" by 3", which attendants staple to the outer garment, e.g., the jacket of the skier, at the time he pays the required admission fee, the arrangement being that such a display of the ticket will demonstrate the skiers right to be on the premises, or to use its facilities, during the remainder of the current day. Such tickets usually have printed thereon, in large and prominent print, the current date so that the ticket will not be usable on a subsequent occasion.

While this arrangement has proven completely satisfactory from the point of view of the parties operating such ski resort areas, it has the marked disadvantage of being highly destructive of the clothing of the skier. The garment to which the ticket is actually stapled, is not, in the typical instance, significantly injured by the stapling operation because the staples penetrate between the threads of the fabric and these threads will have suflicient resiliency to realign themselves back to their intended lo cation after the staple has been removed. The difliculty, however, stems from the fact that the sharp ends of the staple, which bear against the underside of the outer garment, tend to tear the garment which is located directly under that outer garment. In many instances skiers have reported that the movement of the outer garment (and the staple atfixed thereto) relative to the next underlying garment can serve to completely ruin that underlying garment in a single day, particularly if the same is of some soft fabric such as is typically employed in a sweater.

Some ski resort establishments have attempted to resolve this problem by the use of tie tags, i.e., paper tags having strings attached, the arrangement being that the string is aflixed to some suitable aperture in the outer garment or in one of its accouterments, e.g. in the hole typically founded in the tab of the slide fastener which serves as a front closure of the skiers jacket. This solution has not been entirely satisfactory however inasmuch as skiers find that when they are travelling at high speeds, and hence have a need for utmost concentration, the wind causes such tags to flutter in a manner which is likely to provide a dangerous distraction if the anchor for the tag is near the face.

It is an object of the instant invention to provide new and improved means which will provide for the indentification of skiers which will avoid the problems that have attended the means previously employed.

It is a further object of the instant invention to provide new and improved means for receiving and holding the ski lift tickets in a manner wherein destructive abrasion of the skiers clothing is avoided.

It is another object of this invention to provide such a ski lift ticket holder which is provided with means forming a suitable retention point or anchor for tie-tag type ski lift tickets.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a ski lift ticket holder of a type described hereinabove which has the added advantage of being selectively locatable on a portion of the body wherein the ski ticket is not likely to be torn and lost and where the same is not likely to fly up into the face of the wearer or to otherwise distract or annoy him.

These and other objects of this invention will be fully understood from the following detailed description of a typical preferred form and application of the invention, throughout which description reference is made to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of the ticket holder as the same is worn on the clothing of the skier,

FIGURE 2 is a section taken along lines 22 of FIG- URE .1.

Referring to the drawings, it will be seen that the ski lift ticket holder includes a top panel 10 which is formed of flexible sheet material. This sheet material can be cloth, leather, or a suitable plastic material, the only limitation upon its nature being that it must be readily pierceable by ordinary staples as dispensed with conventional stapling devices and must, at the same time, be sufiiciently strong, and have sufficient resistance to tearing, as to hold the staple in place when a ticket is attached thereto by stapling.

The top panel 10 overlies a second, or underlying, panel 12 which is similarly formed of flexible sheet material. In a preferred embodiment the panels 10 and 12 are formed of plastic or leather and, in any event, of matching material, but as will be evident from this description, it is not absolutely necessary that these panels be formed of identical materials. 7

As will be seen in the drawings, it is Within the contemplation of this invention that the conventional ski lift tickets T may be stapled to the outer surface of the top panel 10 and that under this arrangement the turnedin end-s of the staple S, which bear against the second or underside of that panel, will be facing the second panel 12 and that the second panel will serve to protect the garment of the skier, generally indicated at 14 from the abrading effect of the sharp ends of the staple.

As is also shown by the drawing, it is Within the contemplation of this invention that the two panels be held together and that the combination of panels should be affixed to the clothing of the skier by a suitable retention means.

In the preferred embodiment illustrated herein, the two panels 10 and 12 are aflixed to the clothing by means of a catch pin, generally indicated at 20, having a head 22 which bears against the front or outside surface of the top panel 10 and a shank 24 which extends through a suitable aperture in the top panel, thence through a suitable aperture in the second or underlying panel 12, and thence through at least one layer of the clothing 14 of the skier, the free end of the shank being fitted with a conventional catch clasp 26 which bears against the second or inside surface of the garment 14. When such an arrangement is used it will be recognized that a portion of the means employed to attach the completed ski lift ticket holder assembly to the clothing of the skier, to wit, the portion of the shank nearest the head, also serves to hold the two panels 10 and 12. together.

It will be observed that in the preferred embodiment shown, the second or underlying panel 12 has a configuration which is congruent with that of the top or outside panel 10. While such an arrangement would appear to present the most symmetrical appearance, it is noted that it is not essential that these two elements conform completely with one another in shape. It is, however, important that the second panel be so shaped and dimensioned that it underlies all operative portions of the top panel 10, i.e., underlies all portions of the top panel which are suitable for the reception of staples employed to afiix a ticket to that panel.

It will be noted that the top panel has at least one eye 30, which can be formed of a conventional metal eyelet, attached thereto. As is demonstrated by the drawing, such an eyelet provides a suitable place for the attachment of the ski lift tickets which are in the form of tie tags.

When such tie tags are utilized, the ticket holder assembly is preferably located on the outer garment in a position where the wind flapping of the tie tag will not distract or otherwise bother the skier.

It should be plainly understood that While the preferred embodiment illustrated utilizes portions of a catch clasp fastener assembly to hold the two panels and 12 together and utilizes other portions of that fastener assembly to hold the entire ticket holder fast on the skiers outer garment, it is within the contemplation of this invention that other arrangements and means may be utilized to perform this office.

For example, a conventional safety pin can be utilized to perform both offices, or, such a .pin can be afiixed to the back of the underlying panel and the two panels can be secured one to the other by other means, such as by sewing the two together or otherwise joining them.

In like manner, it is within the contemplation of this invention that the entire ticket holder may be sewn to the skiers outer jacket at a convenient location selected with a mind to the considerations We have mentioned hereinabove.

Having described only a typical preferred form and embodiment of my invention, I do not wish to be limited or restricted to specific details herein set forth but wish to reserve to myself any variations or modifications as may appear to those skilled in the art and falling within the scope of the following claims:

I claim:

1. A ski lift ticket holder comprising: a top flexible panel having on their outer surface portion a ski lift ticket afiixed to said outer surface portion in face-to-face relationship, staple means for aflixing said ski lift ticket to said top flexible panel, said staples penetrating through said top panel, a bottom flexible wear-resistant panel engaging penetrated portions of said staples inwardly of said top panel, said bottom panel underlying all portions of the top panel which are adapted to have a ski lift ticket secured thereto, meanssecuring an area of said top panel other than the aforesaid portion adapted for having a ski lift ticket secured thereto to said bottom panel, clothes penetrating means extending from said bottom panel in a direction leading away from said top panel for detachably afiixing the bottom panel to a garment being worn by a skier.

2. The structure defined in claim 1 and further including an eyelet formed in the top flexible panel to serve as an anchor for a tie tag ticket.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,5 02,25 4 7/ 1924 Leggott 2 2,646,635 7/1953 Owen 40-20 2,902,782 9/ 1959 Coleman 40-1.5 2,987,840 6/1961 Marshall et al 402 FOREIGN PATENTS 112,324 1/1918 Great Britain. 211,661 2/1924 Great Brita-in.

EUGENE R. CAPOZIO, Primary Examiner.

JEROME SCHNALL, Examiner.

VVENCELSO J. CONTREAS, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A SKI LIFT TICKET HOLDER COMPRISING: A TOP FLEXIBLE PANEL HAVING ON THEIR OUTER SURFACE PORTION OF SKI LIFT TICKET A FIXED TO SAID OUTER SURFACE PORTION IN FACE-TO-FACE REALTIONSHIP, STAPLE MEANS FOR AFFIXING SAID SKI LIFT TICKET TO SAID TOP FLEXIBLE PANEL, SAID STAPLES PENETRATING THROUGH SAID TOP PANEL, A BOTTOM FLEXIBLE WEAR-RESISTANT PANEL ENGAGING PENETRATED PORTIONS OF SAID STAPLES INWARDLY OF SAID TOP PANEL, SAID BOTTOM PANEL UNDERLYING ALL PORTIONS OF THE TOP PANEL WHICH ARE ADAPTED TO HAVE A SKI LIFT TICKET SECURED THERETO, MEANS SECURING AN AREA OF SAID TOP PANEL OTHER THAN THE AFORESAID PORTION ADAPTED TO HAVING A SKI LIFT TICKET SECURED THERETO TO SAID BOTTOM PANELS, CLOTHES PENETRATING MEANS EXTENDING FROM SAID BOTTOM PANEL IN A DIRECTION LEADING AWAY FORM SAID TOP PANEL FOR DETACHABLY AFFIXING THE BOTTOM PANEL TO A GARMENT BEING WORN BY A SKIER. 